Sakunohana Junmai Daiginjo (720 ml)

Founded in 1892 in Saku City, Sakunohana Shuzo sits at roughly 700 m elevation on the Saku-daira plateau, wedged between the volcanic mass of Mt. Asama to the north and the Yatsugatake range to the south — a high-altitude inland basin where cold winters and clean snowmelt-fed groundwater have shaped the brewery's identity across thirteen decades. The cool microclimate slows fermentation naturally, amplifying aromatic precision without forcing it.

This Junmai Daiginjo is built on Nagano Hitogokochi rice polished to 36% seimaibuai — 64% of each grain removed — placing it firmly in Super-Daiginjo territory by polish alone. Toji Tatsuyuki Inoue applies ginjo-zukuri slow, low-temperature fermentation, coaxing the rice toward its aromatic ceiling. Crucially, the sake is bottled as muroka (non-carbon-filtered) and genshu (undiluted), preserving the full, unmediated character of the rice and terroir at natural ABV.

The transgression here is economic: muroka genshu at the Daiginjo level demands more rice, more time, and more restraint in yield — yet Sakunohana releases it at a price point most regional producers reserve for diluted, filtered expressions. The result is a dry, clean profile with the structural density that only undiluted, unfiltered pressing can deliver.